Assessment of Body Fat Percent and Reliability of Using BMI, WHR, ABSI and BAI with DEXA as Gold Standard

Background Urbanization has brought about a significant change in our lifestyle and eating patterns along with an increase in obesity levels with accumulation of fat in the body. ABSI and BAI are two newly developed anthropometric measures which are used in the determination of body fat percent. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability of different anthropometric measures including ABSI and BAI to determine the body fat percent and to evaluate their effectiveness in determining the levels of obesity using DEXA as the gold standard. Methods 135 subjects in the age group of 21 45 years (93 females and 42 males) participated in the study. Height, weight, waist and hip circumferences were measured and REAP questionnaire was used along with 24-hour recall to gather the dietary habits of the study subjects. BMI, WHR, ABSI and BAI was calculated and a sub sample of 20 subjects underwent DEXA scan to determine the body fat percent which was compared with BMI, ABSI, WHR and BAI to assess which is nearest to DEXA in determining the body fat percent. Results The relationship of different anthropometric measures was determined which showed strong correlation between DEXA and BMI (0.01 and 0.00) and DEXA and BAI in females (p=0.00). whereas, WHR and ABSI was found to have negative correlation with DEXA. BAI and WC are more closely related to DEXA in females than in males and can be used in determination of body fat in females. ABSI and WHR are less associated than BMI and BAI with DEXA. Conclusion The classic method of anthropometry, i. e. , BMI is a best method to assess the body fat percent in both males and females than the newly developed measures of anthropometry - ABSI and BAI.